1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of communications, and in particular, to systems that provide Internet service on a prepaid basis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prepaid Internet services are available from various Internet Service Providers (ISPs). To obtain prepaid Internet service, a user transfers money to an ISP in exchange for a prepaid Internet account and user software for accessing the prepaid Internet service. Alternatively, a sponsor may pay for the prepaid Internet account and user software. The software is often provided on a compact disk or is downloaded from the Internet. The user then operates a computer having the software to access the ISP and obtain the Internet service. The ISP decrements the user prepaid Internet account based on the Internet service provided to the user. The prepaid Internet service usually comes with additional features, such as e-mail and prepaid account refresh. Typically, the ISP places their own business brand on the home page that is transferred to the user in response to an Internet service request.
In some cases, a business may want to offer a prepaid Internet service that has their own business brand. If the business does not want to incur the cost and complexity of building and operating their own prepaid ISP, then the business may choose to resell a prepaid Internet service that is provided by a prepaid ISP wholesaler. In other cases, a prepaid ISP may not have the marketing strength to effectively sell their prepaid Internet service, so the prepaid ISP may choose to wholesale their prepaid Internet service to resellers who effectively market the prepaid Internet service. In either case, the business reseller places their own business brand on the home page of the prepaid Internet service, and the prepaid ISP wholesaler does not obtain any brand equity. Unfortunately, the business reseller may pay more than they want to obtain brand equity with the prepaid Internet service users.